3GPP standards for cellular and WiFi interworking have been available since Release 6, evolving in Release 8, and expanding in subsequent releases. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has also ratified the 802.11u standard, Amendment for “Interworking with External Networks” which addresses wireless local area network (WLAN) enhancements in subscription service provider networks (SSPNs), such as those operated by 3GPP MNOs. However, feature deployment has been limited even though these standards enable access to operator-provided services and mobility between cellular and WiFi.
Mobile network operators (MNOs) may provide subscribers with managed network access using both cellular and WiFi technologies. Currently, MNOs typically consider WiFi only as a way to offload Internet-based traffic for their dual-mode subscribers. In current approaches, an MNO may configure certain handset applications to always use WiFi for Internet access when WiFi is available. For example, an MNO may configure applications to use WiFi when the applications are in low mobility scenarios and while they are within a WiFi hotspot. Current approaches to using WiFi may reduce congestion on the MNO's cellular and core networks, but the reduced congestion may come with a cost.